Why clubs need your support to #KOCOVID19: The Lion Gym
April 10, 2020 | by Matt Halfpenny
Head Coach at The Lion Gym, Khalil Alam faces a fight against the Coronavirus on two fronts.
By day, he is on the front line in the police force as a key worker, helping to keep us all safe during troubling times.
Then, in his free time, he is doing his best to help keep members of his club active by putting together online training videos that enable people to join in from home.
This is against the background that the club faces mounting debts because of no income from classes or gym membership payments (Lion also provides self-defence and health and fitness offerings, alongside Bradford charity CentrePoint).
The boxing side of things is a community-focused club centred around the needs of the members and local community.
It undertake a wide range of outreach projects including working closely with schools, the local police, youth services, young people with disabilities and a wide range of other community organisations and charities.
Competitive boxing classes run alongside a host of other activities such as female-only sessions and a satellite club for homeless young people aged 16 to 25.
The club gives young people the chance to succeed through mentoring and work experience where they may not have had the opportunity otherwise, and allows them to be part of a strong support network within the club.
As a charity, the club runs much of their diversionary and outreach work free of charge, offering the facilities to other charitable organisations on a regular basis.
It’s why the club is looking for support from their local community, members and businesses to ensure that this community hub is still thriving after the pandemic measures are lifted, which the club coaches and volunteers are working hard to ensure will happen.
You can help the cause by donating what you can here.
You can find out more details and support a participating club of your choice by going to: www.englandboxing.org/clubs/kocovid19/
Follow all the latest on the campaign across social media using the hashtag #KOCOVID19
